Crime is hot topic on West Brow

Crime is hot topic on West Brow

Crime and crime prevention were hot topics at Tuesday night's Dade County Operation Good Neighbor meeting at the West Brow Community Center on Griffin Road on Lookout Mountain.

In the year's first in a planned series of Operation Good Neighbor meetings, Sheriff Patrick Cannon focused on community involvement.

"We want people to participate in these meetings so we can address our crime," he said.

Although crime in the area was brought up at the meeting, Dade County, Ga., has the lowest crime rate in the district, Cannon said.

"The reason it's so low is because of the community involvement," he said. "We have quality patrol and trust in the community."

During the meeting, Cannon said that crime in the county decreased from 2008 to 2009. However, there was a slight increase in crime, with 16 residential burglaries between October and December in 2011.

"About eight of the burglars were arrested, and the majority of the folks got their stuff back," he said.

Arizona Boyd spoke passionately on crime prevention after being a victim of assault last summer. She said that the politics of the sheriff's office disrupts actual law enforcement.

"If he stands his ground, this could be a safe place to live," she said.

District 4 Commissioner Peter Cervelli sat next to Cannon during the meeting.

"When a crime happens to you, it becomes very personal," he said. "But, we still have the lowest crime rate in the district."